Windjammer buys Hilco Vision

Windjammer Capital Investors has acquired Plainville, Massachusetts-based Hilco Vision, a distributor of branded and consumable professional eyecare products and optical accessories. No financial terms were disclosed. UPDATE: Blue Point Capital Partners has exited Hilco Vision as a result of the acquisition.

PRESS RELEASE

September 10, 2019 — Windjammer Capital Investors (“Windjammer”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Hilco Vision (“Hilco” or the “Company”) in partnership with management. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Plainville, Massachusetts, Hilco is the leading global distributor of branded and consumable professional eyecare products and optical accessories throughout the eye healthcare supply chain. The Company has a highly diverse suite of branded and non-branded optical products and accessories, offering more than 30,000 SKUs and an expansive distribution network, uniquely allowing the Company to serve both optical chains and independent optical locations alike as a “one-stop-shop.”

Hilco’s products include professional eyecare products required for the everyday operation of eyecare practices and stores, optical accessories, which enhance its customers’ sales, and additional value-added services which support its customers’ branding and retail activities. The Company sells to a diverse group of 40,000+ customers in a variety of channels, consisting primarily of smaller, independent eyecare providers and optical retail chains, as well as labs, non-optical customers and other distributors.

“Windjammer is an ideal partner for Hilco,” said Hilco CEO, Ross Brownlee. “The combination of their successful track record investing in specialty distribution businesses like ours, the value-added resources they bring, and our shared objective to deliver even greater value to our customers and investors makes us confident that we will be able to execute our growth plan during this next stage of the Company’s development.”

“The breadth of Hilco’s product offerings and value-added services represent a differentiated value proposition for its customers, which is clearly reflected in the Company’s leading market position and its long-tenured customer relationships,” said Matt Anderson, Managing Director at Windjammer. “Ross and the team have done a terrific job positioning the Company in an attractive and growing market with recession-resilient demand characteristics.”

Hilco is the second investment in Windjammer’s $870 million Senior Equity Fund V, L.P. “We are excited to have Hilco join the Windjammer family of portfolio companies,” said Greg Bondick, Managing Principal at Windjammer, adding that “the Company embodies the attributes we look for in platform investments – a niche market leader that offers mission critical products and services to its customers at a high value to cost proposition. In addition, the combination of Hilco’s numerous and ongoing organic initiatives, along with the landscape of strategic acquisitions, provides multiple avenues for accelerated growth.”

More information on Hilco and its products can be found at www.hilcovision.com.

About Windjammer
Windjammer Capital is a national private equity investment firm, based in Waltham, MA and Newport Beach, CA that invests control equity in middle-market businesses and in partnership with management. Since its founding in 1990, Windjammer has managed over $3 billion in committed capital, completed over 50 platform acquisitions and over 100 strategic add-ons. The firm targets investments in companies that are leaders in attractive niche markets and share several of the following characteristics: significant and defensible market positions; differentiated products and services; strong management teams; scalable business models; identifiable growth opportunities; and consistent financial performance.